Improvement in machines for pointing and finishing horseshoe-nails



5 Sheets -Sheet 1.

S. PUTNAM. Machine for Pointing and Finishing Horse Shoe Nails.

No. 201Qi01. Peit ented March 26,1878.

5 Sheet s-Sheet 2.

S. S. PUTNAM. Machine for Pointingand Finishing Horse ShoeNails.

No 201,701. Patented March 26, I878.

5 Sheets-Sheet 3.

S. S. PUTNAM. I Machine for Pointing and Finishing Horse Shoe Nails.

No. 20mm. Patented March 26,1878.

(wzmrzw N. PETERS, FHOTO-LITHQGRAPHER, WASHINGTON. D C.

- 5 Sheets-Siheet 4. S. S. PUTNANL. Machine for Pointing andf'inishingHorse Shoe Nails. No. 201,701. gaa emed March 26,1878r a r a[inguinal/In Y fi 2 2 LZ/v/MMM 65/1 2 07 "PETERS. PNOTO-LI'THOGRAFHER,WASHINGTON, C.

5 sneak-sneaks.

I PUT-NAM.

Machine for, Pointing and Finishing Horse Shoe Nails.

No. 201,701. Patented March 26; I878.

z 2 g i iiii ll w! z dam/@225 Mam 7m n fwmmr/ze my N1FETERS|FKOTU-LITHCGRAFHER; WISHING'TON. D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT QFFIGE.

SILASS. PUTNAM, OF BOSTON,IMASSAOHUSETTS, ASSIGlFOR TO THE PUTNAM NAILOOMPANYQOF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR POINTING AND FINISHING HORSESHOE-NAILS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 201,701, dated March26, 1878; application filed November 1, 1877. I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SILAS S. PUTNAM, of Boston, in the county of Suffolkand State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements inMachines for Pointing and Finishing Forged Horseshoe-Nails, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description, reference beinghad tothe accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in WhlCh''I I Figure 1 is a perspectiveview of my improved machine. Fig. -2 is aside elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a longitudinalvertical sectionthrough the center of the same. Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical sectionthrough the same on the line 00 x of Fig.2. Fig. 5 is afront, Ielevation of the machine. Fig.6 is a horizontal section on the line 3 yof Fig. 5; Figs. 7, 8,9, 10, 11, and 12, details. I

My present invention relates to a machine for pointing and finishingforged horseshoenails, in which the nail is griped andheld firmly whilebeing acted upon by a series of dies, which straighten it if crooked,and finish the blade and point, at the same time condensing andhardening the metal and rendering the nail-stiff and fit for driving;and myinvention consists in certain details of construction, to behereinafter particularly set forth.

To enable othersskilled in the art to understand and use my invention, 1willproceed to describe the manner in which I have carried it out.

In the said drawings, A represents the frame-work of the machine, insuitable bearings, in which runs the driving-shaft B, to which aresecured the driving-pulley G and a series of cam-wheels, to behereinafter described.

Dis the bed of the machine, which is supported on the frame-work A, andis provided on'its upper side witha central longitudinal way, E, andtransverse ways G H at right angles thereto, these ways being arrangedin the form of a cross, the way E serving as a guide for thehorizontally-sliding block a, to whichthe front die I), Fig. 3, isattached, and

l the ways G Has guides for the horizontallysliding blocks 0 d, whichcarry the side dies e e. The block a is provided with a rectangularaperture, across which extends a pin, 9, With which engages the upperbifurcated end of a lever, h ,which is pivoted ate between two twocurved portions, 16 17 as seen in Figs. 7

and 8, by means of which the desired movements are imparted to the dieb, as will be more particularly described hereinafter.

The sliding block 0 is provided on its under side with a recess, acrosswhich extends apin, l, with which engages the bifurcated end of a lever,m, pivoted between lugs 18 on the under side of the bed D, and carryingat its lower end va friction-roll, which fits within a cam-groove, 19,in the side of a wheel, K, secured to the shaft B, the form of thegroove being such as to cause the slide to advance and recede at theproper times, as will be here- Iinafter described.

The sliding block (1 is constructed and operated in precisely the samemanner as the block 0, and is actuated simultaneously therewith by alever, p, similar to the lever m, and pivoted between lugs 20, the lowerend of the lever 19 carrying a friction-roll which fits into a camgroove, 21, in the side of a wheel, L, similar to the wheel K, andsecured to the driving- .shaft B a short distance therefrom, the twocam'grooves 19 21 being of precisely the same form, in order that themovements of the slides c (1 may be exactly alike. I

Within a narrow recess in each of the blocks 0 d is fitted a slide, g,which rests directly upon the die 6, and is held in place by a pin, at,passing through a slot, 1, and from the inner ends of these slides qprojectthe straight ening-dies s s, which act upon the sides of thenail, and straighten it if crooked, these dies having their facesslightly inclined to correspond to the taper of the nail, and projectingout in advance of the dies 6 0 when the blocks 0 cl are drawn back, asseen in Fig. 4.

Against the end of each of the slides q bear a pin, 2., which projectsout and slides through a hollow screw, u, the pin being caused to exerta pressure upon the slide g by means of a spiral spring, v, surroundingthe pin, and confined in place by the hollow screw u, by

turning which the pressure upon the slide can be increased ordiminished, and the force with which the dies .9 8 act upon the nail canthus be regulated, as desired, and the springs thus caused to bear withequal force, whereby the nail is kept in its proper central position andperfectly straightened. Each of the hollow screws u is provided with acheck-nut, 22, to hold it in place when adjusted.

The covering-plate a of the way E is provided with a longitudinalprojection, b through which slides a horizontal bar, 0 which forms aclamp or binder for retaining the nail against a stationary die, alwhich is secured to a solid projecting portion of the bed D by means ofa binding-screw,'e passing through a hollow screw, f, the latterabutting against the die, and by means of this screw f the die can beadjusted to compensate for wear, the binding-screw e holding it firmlyin place when adjusted. The face of this die d is made slightly hollow,in order to give the desired curve to the nail when finished.

The clampin gbar c has its front end slightly inclined to correspond tothe taper of the portion of the blade of the nail with which it comesinto contact, and from one side of this bar projects a pin, g with whichengages the upper bifurcated extremity of a lever, 7L pivoted on a pin,d, between two lugs projecting from the upper surface of the bed D. Thefoot or lower end of the lever h is kept by a flat spring, 28, against acam, M, at one end of the cam-wheel I, the cam M being constructed withtwo inclines or. projections, 24 25, and being so formed as to cause theclamping-bar (through the lever h) to advance and recede to clamp andrelease the nail at the required times.

One of the bifurcations at the upper end of the lever h consists of aspring, 26, .which bears against the pin g when the bar 0 is to beadvanced, causing it to exert a springpressure upon the nail andadapting it to clamp nails of varying thicknesses.

N is an upright conductor, into which the nails to be pointed andfinished are dropped,

. one at a time, with the head uppermost and the inclined side thereoftoward the front die b, the nail being arrested by its point striking amovable slide or stop, It, pivoted at its outer end to the upperextremity of a lever, l, the lower bent end or foot of which is pivotedat 27 between two lugs, f, projecting from the side of the frame-work.The outer end of the foot of the lever Z rests upon a cam-wheel, msecured to the shaft B, and when the notched portion 28 of thiscam-wheel arrives beneath thefoot of the lever the upright arm thereofis thrown out by a spring, a, and the end of the stop is withdrawn fromthe conductor. As soon as this takes place the nail drops, by its ownweight, to the bottom of the conductor, where it is arrested by itspoint striking another stop, p, which is attached to and projects outfrom one of the dies 6, as seen in Fig. 4, the upper surfaces of thestop p be ing on a level with the under surface of the dies 0 6, wherebythe point of the nail is prevented from getting below the dies, whilethe forward movements of the latter are not interfered with by the stop.v

When the straightening-dies s s are drawn back to their full extenttheir faces form a portion of the inner sides of the conductor, and arein line therewith, their position being determined by the pins 'n andslots 1'", which limit the distance which they are pushed forward by thesprings behind them. vious' to the withdrawal of the stop k the incline24 of the cam M strikes the foot of the lever h and advances theclamping-bar 0, so that its face will form a continuation of the insideof the conductor in line therewith, whereby the nail is prevented fromaccidentally passing the lower stop 1; and falling into thedischarge-spout P, the mouth of which is located immediately beneath theconductor N.

Almost immediately after the withdrawal of the stop It it is advanced toits original position by the action of the cam m which moves the lever linward against the resistance of its spring a, in order to arrest thenext 'nail which is dropped into the conductor, and simultaneously withthis movement of the stop 70 an arm or finger, s enters the conductorover the nail just released, and follows it down,

which prevents it from rebounding, and insures the nail being down inits proper position when griped by the clamping-bar c and by means ofthis device the nail is prevented from being imperfectly formed orspoiled, as would be the case if it should be caught on the rebound bythe clamping-bar.

The finger s is pivoted at its outer end to the lever Z and is operatedin the following manner: From the side of the finger .9 projects a pin,1?, which, when the finger is advanced by the forward movement of thelever Z, strikes an inclined or curved projection, a,

formed at the end of a light spring, 0 which lies flat upon the uppersurface of a plate, a to which it is attached at its inner end bya screwpassing through a slot, which allows of its horizontal adjustment. Theplate a is supported by an arm, I2 secured to the bed D by a screwpassing through a slot, which admits of its vertical adjustment. As thefinger advances it is raised by the pin it riding up over the inclinedprojection u, and after being so raised its extremitypasses into theinterior of the conductor over the head of the nail just dropped. Justbefore the termina tion of the forward movement of the finger the pin tis advanced beyond the inclined projection u, when a flat spring, 0attached to the sliding stop k instantly depresses the finger .9 causingit to follow the nail down, as before mentioned, the end of the fingerremaining within the conductor until it is withdrawn by the backwardmovement of the lever Just pre-.

1 which simultaneously withdraws the-upper stop 7d. 011 the backwardmovement of the finger its pin t passes under a curved lip, 29, Fig. 12,on one side of the projection to, raising the latter against theresistance of the spring '0 and as soon as the pin t has passed out frombeneath the lip 29, the projection u is returned to its originalposition, and the pin is ready to again ride up over it on the advanceof the finger, as before described.

The lever Z? is formed of two portions, the outer one, to which the stop10 and finger s are attached, consisting of a spring which will yield incase the end of the finger should accidentally come intocontact with anail in the conductor, thus avoiding breakage or injury of the parts,this contact of the finger with a nail being liable to occur if the nailshould from any cause stick'within thecon'ductor.

Immediately after the completion of the forward anddownward movement ofthe finger s the incline 25 of the cam M strikes the foot of the leverh, andiadvances the clamping-bar 0 causing it to gripe the nail at ornear the middleof its blade and clamp it against the stationary die d,-which forms a portion of the front side of the interior of theconductor.The slides c d are now moved forward, and the dies 8 5 brought intocontact with the side of the nail, whereby it is straightened ifcrooked, these dies acting upon the sides of thenail from the shoulderunder the head down to near the point, and yielding againsttheresistance of their springs 11 as the slides a (1 continue toadvance, thus exerting a spring pressure upon the nail.

During the first part of the movement of the slides a d, and just beforethe dies 8 8 come into contact with the nail, a pin, d projectinghorizontally from an upright arm on each slide, strikes an incline onthe spring-arm e of a griping-lever, f pivoted at 30, the inner faces ofthese griping-levers being in line with the inner sides of theconductor; and as the arms c are depressed by the pins d against theresistance of springs g", the levers j seize and hold the nail firmly'bythe head in a central position, the spring-arms e causing the head ofthe nail to be griped with a yielding pressure, as is necessary owing tothe varying sizes of the heads of the nails passing through theconductor. The lower side dies 0 6 now strike the sides of the nail andcompress its point, in order to give it the desired shape and finish. Alight blow is then struck upon the outer projecting end of each of thepins t by hammers Q R, the force of the blows being transmitted, throughthe pins t, slides q, and dies 8, to the nail, whereby the metal is set,and the tendency of the nail to springwhen released by the diesprevented.

The arms of these hammers Q R are attached to rock-shafts h F, havingtheir bearings in the frame-work, these shafts being provided withlevers k 1 the end of the former overlapping the end of the latter, asseen in Fig. 5, so that when the hammer Q is thrown Im vas seen in Fig.4, until a notch, 10 Fig. 5, I

and dotted in Fig. 4, in the wheel L arrives opposite the projection,when the hammers are released and thrown forward against the outer endsof the pins t, as before described.

As the wheel L continues to revolve, the in clined face of the notch pacts upon the projection n drawing back the hammers, which remain inthis position until the notch 19 is again brought round opposite to theprojection a After the hammers Q B have struck their blows and have beenretracted, the slides c d recede a short distance, carrying with themthe dies 6 e, (the straightening-dies s 8 remain,- ing stationary,) andthe front die I) then advances and strikes the nail, forming the scarfor front beveled'side of the point, after which the die bis withdrawn ashortdistance by the backward movement of the slide a, when the lowerside dies c e are again advanced, and after acting upon the nail, asbefore, recede, when the die I) advances and strikes the nail a secondtime, immediately after which a light blow is struck by a hammer, S,upon the outer end of the clamping-bar c, in order to set the metal andcause the nail to retain its shape.

The arm or lever of. the hammer S is pivoted between lugs 31 on the sideof the frame-work, and is drawn back against the resistance of a spring,g by a cam-wheel, r", on the shaft B, the spring acting upon the armwhen released, and causing the hammer to give a blow, as desired.

The slide a and front die 12 are now retracted, and the hammer Ssimultaneously drawn back, and, as soon as this hammer has beenpartially drawn back, a deep notch, 32, in the cam M arrives oppositethe foot of the lever 71., which is instantly forced therein by theaction of the spring 23, by which means the lever h is vibrated, and theclam pin g-bar 0 suddenly withdrawn to release the nail from its gripe.

Soon after the front die I) commences to recede for the last time theside slides 0 cl comm'ence to move back, and are then retracted to theirfull extent, carrying with them the dies e e and straightening-dies s s,the latter part of this movement carrying the pins (1 past the inclinesof the spring-arms (2 when the griping'leversf will be moved by theirsprings g", so as to release thehead of the nail, which is at the sameinstant pushed off the lower stop 19 into the discharge-spout P by apushrod, 8 which enters the conductor through an aperture in the die d,the space between the dies 8 s when drawn back, and the distance andspring the rod 8 is advanced and withdrawn at the required times.

The slides q have a slight play within their recesses, whichconstruction allows them to adjust themselves to nails havingdifferentlytapered sides, and the lower side dies 0 e and the front dieI) are each adjusted by a setscrew, to, by which they can be centeredand their faces brought into the exact position desired, each die beingheld when adjusted by a setscrew, b;

The movements of the side dies are so timed with respect to those of thefront die as to avoid any interference, and a nail is pointed andfinished and discharged from the spout at each complete revolution ofthe drivingshaft B, the point of the nail being reduced in thickness andwidth and slightly elongated, which operation serves to condense,smooth, and harden the iron, soas to render the nail stiff and fit fordriving, thus avoiding the necessity of hammering it upon an anvilprevious to use, as has heretofore been customary among blacksmiths.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. The yielding straightening-dies s 8, lower side dies 0 0, front dieb, and stationary die 01 in combination with the conductor N, and one ormore clamping devices for holding the nail while being acted upon by thedies, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The griping-levers f, with their springarms e arranged upon oppositesides of the conductor N, in'combination with the dies 8 s, e e, b, and01, operating substantially in the manner and for the purpose described.

3. The finger 3 having both a vertical and horizontal travel, incombination with the conductor N and stop 19, operating substantially asdescribed, for the purpose specified.

4. The combination of the finger s with the yielding spring-lever 1substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. The combination of the lever 1 fingers, pin t, spring 2;, with itsprojection u, having a lip, 29, and the springs 11) and 0 allconstructed to operate substantially as described.

6. The straightening-dies s s, with their slides q arranged to movehorizontally in the blocks 0 d, in combination with the independent pins2., springs v, and hollow screws u, for adjusting the pressure of thesprings, substantially as described.

7. The horizontally-sliding blocks a d, the cams K L, and levers m p, incombination with the dies 8 s and e e, as set forth.

Witness my hand this 27th day of October, A. D. 1877.

' SILAS S. PUTNAM. In presence of- P. E. TESCHEMACHER,

N. W. SrnARNs.

